


no one has to see

by stelleappese



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Amanda&Nick are bros, Carisi is very obviously crushing on Rafael because who the hell wouldn't, Fin misses Munch a tiny little bit, Kinda but not really, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 07:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5997034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelleappese/pseuds/stelleappese
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rafael Barba has a secret, and it's probably the worst kept secret ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	no one has to see

**Author's Note:**

> I'm stuck in a writer's block, and I've been editing this for four days, so :| about time I post it and stop worrying over it, I guess.
> 
> One day, I swear, I *will* write a proper fic in this fandom /o\
> 
> (Also, if Nick is somewhere he isn't supposed to be, it's because I'm so good at denial sometimes I don't even notice he's gone)

“You know there’s no guarantee when it comes to the human mind”, Dr. Huang is saying, as they walk down the corridor. Declan frowns a little, but he’s not entirely sure why.

To be fair, there is _plenty_  of stuff to be frowning about: the guy Dr. Huang has just examined is a psycho, they can’t rule out the jury will be made of a bunch of incompetent idiots, there’s no hard evidence to lock the monster up for good…

But no, it wasn’t anything that serious. It was more of a spark of his investigative instincts. Something he noticed and stacked away in case he’ll ever need that information again in the future.

“No one expects a crystal ball, doctor, just the best risk assessment”, Barba says, eyes immediately searching for Dr. Huang’s as soon as he turns to face them.

Oh. _Oh_.

All right, Declan thinks. That was it. They _had_  been speaking before, but that sentence Dr. Huang said, it wasn’t exactly _linked_  to the conversation they were having. He was speaking directly to Barba, and about something they’d already discussed.

Weird, Declan remotely thinks, as the doctor tells them what his conclusions are; he’d never realized those two knew each other…

*

Barba is angry. Sonny knows he is, and he tries to keep himself from talking too much, or breathing too loud, or giving him one of those looks that make Barba glare at him.

What’s weird about the whole thing is that Barba isn’t usually _angry_  when it comes to waiting for a jury to make their decision. He’s usually nervous. And over-caffeinated. And sometimes twitching for a drink. Not _angry_. That usually happens after the verdict, if needed.

So he must be angry for something else? Maybe?

“Sooo”, says Sonny. Barba glares at him. Oh, well. “I think we did fine”, he says, encouragingly.  
Barba doesn’t even snap back. Hm.  
“I mean, the doc was convincing, but you’re…”

Another glare. More intense, this time. “Can you stop talking, please?”  
“Yeah, sure”, says Sonny, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, thinking maybe he should have bought Barba some zeppole as a precaution. “But you were so good, I mean…”

This time, Barba doesn’t glare. At least not at him.

Dr. Huang seems to be waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase. Or maybe he’s not, maybe he’s just hanging out minding his business. But he does look up at Barba and sets his jaw, determined.  
“Excuse me”, murmurs Barba, marching towards him.

Sonny looks at them share a few words. Hell, he can feel the _tension_  from where he’s standing. So that’s why Barba’s angry, he’s angry at _him_. Sonny doesn’t know Huang at all, but he knows Liv used to trust him, and he knows she was hurt by him testifying for the defense at the trial. So maybe Barba just knows Huang better than Sonny thought, and he’s feeling betrayed too.

Barba nods at something Huang has just said, then turns around and walks back up to Sonny.

“Let’s go”, he says, not looking back. Sonny, though, does look back, and sees Huang following Barba with his eyes.  
“What did he want?”, he asks, curiously, already starting to feel righteously pissed off in Barba’s stead.  
“None of your business”, says Barba, but softly, almost gently.

Nope. Sonny doesn’t like that guy at all.

*

The talk Barba and Liv are having has been going on long enough that Barba has finished drinking his coffee. Fin watches him vibrate for a moment, probably trying _not_  to spring towards the coffee machine. If Munch were here, he’d propose a bet on how long Barba would be able to control himself. He’d win it, too.

He mentally grins as Barba starts steering Liv towards the coffee machine, where Fin’s already pouring sugar in his own cup.

“…would be a stretch, too.”  
“So you’re not going to give us a warrant?”  
“Of course I am”, snorts Barba, pouring coffee in a plastic cup and giving Liv an amused look.

“Nice tie”, says Fin. He’d never thought Barba even _owned_  a normal, sober, tie. This one is pale blue and silvery gray. It doesn’t have butterflies on it or anything.

Barba _blushes_. He’s blushing. What.

“Thanks”, he mutters, fidgeting with the tie, “Well, if we’re done here, I’m going to go”, he mutters, taking a deep sip of coffee, setting the cup down still half full, and hurrying away.

“What did I say?”, asks Fin, confused.  
“I don’t know”, frowns Liv.

*

Sonny is about to barge into Barba’s office when he remembers he’s been threatened with defenestration if he ‘doesn’t learn some manners and fucking _knocks_ ’ the last time he did that. So he stops, composes himself, and makes to knock at the already open door of Barba’s office, when he hears his voice.

Maybe he’s busy? Sonny isn’t really in a rush, and what he wanted to ask isn’t urgent. He doesn’t want to disturb him if he’s talking to someone. He’ll roll his eyes and look at Sonny like he’s a particularly stupid kid. Sonny _hates_  when that happens.

“…I hope. Yes. Possibly? I’m not sure, I’ll let you know. You pick the restaurant, then”, Barba is saying. He laughs, and Sonny looks around nervously. He’s laughing. Maybe he shouldn’t be listening to this…  
“You definitely don’t look like it, but you’ve got a dirty, _dirty_  mind... yes, exactly. That can’t really be said of me, now, can it? Yes, you should. Especially now that I haven’t seen you in four days…”

Holy _shit_ , he’s flirting with someone. Sonny is eavesdropping as Barba flirts with someone. _Fuck_.

“It’s fine, it’s my day off tomorrow, we can stay up as long as you like.”

He should knock now, before he manages to unleash some massive disaster. Now. Fuck.

“I’ve got a few suggestions about that…”, Barba says, mischievously.

Sonny panics. He knocks on the door so hard the glass rattles, then barges in.

“Hello, what’s up? Gorgeous day, isn’t it?”, he says, perhaps a notch too loud.  
Barba, phone still up to his ear, sighs.  
“I’ve got to go. Sorry. Sure. See you later”, he clears his throat, sitting up and looking away from Sonny, “Me too”, he says, “Bye.”

He hangs up, looks at Sonny. “So?”, he asks.

Sonny stares at him for a moment, then blinks, “Right, uh… I…”  
Crap.  
“I forgot”, he murmurs, miserably.

Barba rubs his eyes. “Right”, he sighs, “I’m going to get something to eat, see if you remember by the time I’m back…”  
“Can I come with?”, asks Sonny.

Barba shrugs. Sonny smiles at him, and Barba shakes his head, but he does smile back.

*

Barba has been pacing for at least two of the five hours they’ve spent in lockdown. He still looks like he’s about to start throwing things at people, Liv thinks, as they retreat back to the station.

She’s got way too much on her mind already, and she’s sure she’s ready for anything to happen, but when she sees Huang waiting next to Nick and Fin, she hesitates.

Nick nods towards them, and Huang turns around, starting to walk towards them.  
“Rafael”, he says, looking almost scared, “What happened? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you since this morning…”  
“I know, I’m sorry”, says Barba, “We got stuck in a lockdown for _hours_. They wouldn’t give us our phones, and then my battery died, and…”

He suddenly seems to realize the entire squad is staring at him, because he straightens up his back and clears his throat, then guides Huang to the little room they usually use for meetings.

Liv can’t hear what they’re saying, but he can see, through the glass walls, that one of Barba’s hands is squeezing gently Huang’s arm, and he’s looking at him with such gentleness in his eyes.

“What does he want?”, asks Liv, to Fin, who shrugs.  
“He was just worried”, he says, “Should have met Barba for lunch, but he never showed up.”  
“Why is he meeting Barba for lunch?”, murmurs Liv. Her trust in Huang may have become an old, fractured thing; but she trusts Barba with her life. Still, Huang isn’t on their side anymore…  
“Not for business”, says Carisi, suddenly appearing beside Liv, “They have lunch together like three times a week.”  
“How do you know?”, asks Fin. Carisi blinks at him, blushes a little, and quickly retreats.

Huang is nodding now, hugging his coat to his chest like a safety blanket. Barba’s hand moves to the back of Huang’s neck, he leans in a little and says something, smiling. Huang smiles back.

*

“Is that Barba?”, asks Amanda, squinting at something above Nick’s shoulder. Nick turns around to look, then groans and just drags his chair next to Amanda’s so he can get a better view.  
“It _is_  Barba”, he murmurs, taking a sip of his drink.

He’s coming out of a restaurant further up the street, fixing the collar of his coat. Amanda and Nick, sitting at a table out on the sidewalk, frown at each other.  
“Man”, says Nick, “It’s like seeing a teacher out of school…”  
“That sounds accurate”, comments Amanda.

The restaurant door opens again, and Huang steps out. There’s a fraction of a second in which Nick thinks maybe something’s going down and Barba is fishing for information about some case he hasn’t heard of, but then Barba holds an arm up, and Huang snuggles against him, hooking an arm around Barba’s waist and letting him squeeze him a little.

“Oh my God”, murmurs Amanda.

They start walking down the street slowly, whispering to each other. Nick is pretty sure he’s never seen Barba smile like that since he’s known him. And the way Huang’s looking up at him, too! He may as well have tiny little hearts floating around his head…

“Well”, says Nick, “I was _not_  expecting that.”

Barba and Huang stop on the corner of the street. Barba says something that makes Huang laugh, and looks extremely pleased at himself. Then Huang is getting on the tip of his toes and pressing a little kiss against Barba’s lips, and it’s a completely innocent thing, but he closes his eyes as he does it, and bites his lips when he moves away, and Nick feels like he’s intruding on something extremely intimate.

He drags his chair back to where it was, sits down. Amanda looks at him.  
“They _are_  kinda cute, aren’t they?”  
“Yep”, nods Amanda, “Definitely.”

*

“Anyway”, says Liv, accepting the cup of coffee Barba is handing her and sitting down; “You’re going to come to dinner tomorrow, right? Everybody confirmed. Even Nick will be there.”  
“Sure”, says Barba, leafing through the pile of files on his desk. He stops for a fraction of a second, looks at the files without really focusing on them. “I can’t believe Noah’s already three years old…”  
“I know, right?”, asks Liv, with a grin, “He changes so much. Clothes that fit him one day suddenly look very very tiny two days after…”

He’s starting to talk, too. _Finally_. Liv was so worried about that, but Noah’s doctor told her not to worry, and that sometimes babies just start talking all of a sudden. Noah’s still very hesitant, and the thing he seems to like the most is pointing at things and declaring their name out loud, which is ridiculously adorable.

Barba still looks a bit lost in thought, a tiny little smile threatening to bloom on his lips. Liv wonders what he’s thinking about.

“You know”, she says, setting the cup down on Barba’s desk, “Dr. Huang is welcome to join us, if he wants to.”  
Barba looks at her, eyes wide. “What?”, he murmurs, cheeks flushing bright red.  
“I’m just saying”, she says, smiling.  
“I’ll, hm. I’ll tell him that. Thank you”, Barba mutters, suddenly looking incredibly busy again.  
“He’s very good with kids”, Liv adds, not entirely sure why. Barba doesn’t look up from the files, but does start grinning smugly.


End file.
